We Need Competitive and Marketable Graduates

In our August issue, we asked key leaders to submit essays addressing what they would do if they could reinvent higher education in NH. Each day, we feature a different response.

The triad of descriptors for any successfully graduated student includes the following: educated, prepared, and marketable. Historically the focus has been weighted heavily on educated, less on prepared, and often lesser still on marketable.

Our graduates must be in higher demand on a regional, national, and global basis. Educational institutions must be constantly in touch with the real-time demands of the market, and create a nimble and agile system for rapid curriculum change and development to assure students are learning sought-after skills that are relevant in today's market. Finally, an organizational adaptation to constantly identify opportunities for practical experience (projects, internships, etc.) is essential. Institutional reliance on understaffed career services departments will not work.

Jason Alexander is a managing partner with BANK W Holdings, LLC in Bedford and sits on many higher education boards. Reach him at 603.637.1466 or at jalexander at alexandertg dot com.